>> the headlines -- islamic state group claims responsibility for twin blasts in beirut. aiming to split the caliphate in two, the kurdish forces advanced. acrimonious talks in the migration crisis. you're watching "live from paris."

2:31 pm

thanks for joining us. at least 41 people have been killed in twin suicide tax -- attacks in beirut. the islamic state group has claimed responsibility. hezbollah is fighting alongside government forces in syria's civil war. good evening. tell us more about what you have seen. >> we have just returned from the immediate site of the pond blasts. the bomb security forces have moved people out. where people have been pulled away. that is obviously from some of the 40-plus people killed and

2:32 pm

200 wounded. an extremely large explosion, made worse by the fact that aere were twin detonations, typical tactic to try to cause the most amount of harm possible, obviously not just killing and injuring people, but drawing in those who come to help the victims of the first explosion. then the second explosion was some 30 meters away as people rushed in. it took more lives. this is a contained area with high buildings and narrow streets. it concentrates the explosion. all these reasons contribution to this -- contribute to this having been such a terrible attack. we are hearing the islamic state group has claimed responsibility for the attack, in an area where there doesn't seem to be any obvious target other than the

2:33 pm

fact that this is a neighborhood shia,s generically predominantly shia, and that there would be a large number of hezbollah supporters in an area like this. chris: adam, thank you for joining us. meanwhile, french president francois hollande has been speaking out about these attacks, describing it as "despicable" and expressing his horror over them. for more, i'm joined by a journalist. thank you for talking to us. islamic state has claimed responsibility. perhaps no real surprise there? >> no. nobody is surprised that isis would come out and claim responsibility for such atrocious terrorist attacks that target civilians. however, they -- there have been

2:34 pm

a lot of condemnations by lebanese across the board from different areas and religious groups that have condemned such an attack. however, there is a lot of blame as well on hezbollah for inviting such attacks on lebanese soil because of their involvement in the syrian arms struggle- syrian armed . there are mixed feelings among many lebanese and a lot of syrians living in lebanon that hezbollah brought this upon itself. that it invites such attacks because of its involvement in syria. chris: you said there have been a number of attacks in lebanon since the civil war in syria started. what about the capacity to present them -- to prevent them? almost 18has been

2:35 pm

months since we've seen a similar attack in the hezbollah stronghold. there have been attacks targeting two sunni mosques in aaa last year as well -- in tripoli last year as well. since the offensive across the lebanese-syrian border, there has been much better -- they have been much better equipped. they have managed to stop a lot of suicide bombers or a lot of, men wearing those suicide belts, , across from syria. what is worrisome in this case in what we've seen today in the beirut suburb is that those groups might become homegrown and not have crossed the border from syria to lebanon. and this is a concern and a new

2:36 pm

development. so, if we see more of those homegrown terrorist attacks, then, you know, isis might be operating secret cells in lebanon, especially in refugee camps. news came out that two of the suicide bombers were palestinian. the area close to where that bombing took place is one of the biggest palestinian refugee camps. there is concern that isis might have infiltrated the refugee camp, and it is greeting its own -- it isll that is now creating its own secret cell that is now coming out today. alouf, carol maloof -- m thank you. by u.s.forces, backed air strikes say they are making progress as they advance on sinjar.

2:37 pm

last year, they enslaved thousands of yazidi women. this is a bid to drive a wedge between the isis strongholds of mosul and split their so-called caliphate in two. reporter: a joint attack against one of the islamic group's prized possessions. kurdish forces are attempting to retake sinjar. the iraqi city sits on a key supply route. >> sinjar sits astride highway 47, which is a key and critical resupply route for the enemy. this is a primary road between basel and -- mosul and raqqa. by seizing sinjar, we will be able to cut that line of communication, which we believe will constrict isis' ability to resupply themselves and is a --tical first step in the

2:38 pm

>> it is good to see movement there, but there are continuous airstrikes. we are bombing them with artillery from above. reporter: around 600 islamic state group militants are thought to be defending the city, which is said to be littered with landmines and explosive devices. most of the former yazidi residents fled last year to a steep -- to escape the onslaught. thousands were killed in the fighting. thousands more were trapped for weeks in the nearby mountains. yazidis have recently been returning from surrounding villages, and many have joined forces with peshmerga fighters ke theirtempt to reta city. the u.s.-led coalition has carried out dozens of airstrikes in recent weeks in preparation for the offensive. chris: for more on this, a journalist with a local network in iraqi kurdistan.

2:39 pm

what more can you tell us about this offensive and how it is going? >> the kurdish forces have been able to capture an important [indiscernible] in sinjar. circling sinjar from different sides. they are basically waiting to push further into the town and to clear the remaining isis from inside sinjar city. chris: tell us a little bit more about their overall strategy and whether it is going to be an effective counterpunch against the islamic state organization. >> it is expected to be an effective counterpunch for sure. cutting the main highway that goes from basel in iraq all the way to -- from mosul in iraq all in syria isaqqa

2:40 pm

believed to be a major blow upon isis. that has been a major route for isis. to apply moreelp pressure on i.s. inmost soul -- i.s. in mosul and surrounding areas. chris: sweden has reintroduced temporary border controls in an attempt to attempt -- to stem the tide of migration. the country takes in the greatest number of refugees per capita in the eu, but it has been facing an increasing amount of backlash. the 190,000 190,000eekers -- up to asylum-seekers are set to arrive in sweden this year, which has a population of only 10 million. the border controls come into

2:41 pm

effect immediately. >> we need order at our borders, and there has to be order in our reception of refugees. willovernment, therefore, impose border controls from midday thursday. nicholas: the controls will strait ando to the to ferry ports in the region. they want other eu countries to share the burden. the eu countries need to help out when it comes to the distribution of asylum-seekers and also with money. and with people arriving in copenhagen here in september had it for sweden --

2:42 pm

september headed for sweden, stockholm is saying it cannot cope. its message is it will not take in the numbers it has taken in so far. chris: meanwhile, acrimonious talks between european and african leaders ended with a 1.8 billion euro plan to stem the flow of migrants. there are deep misgivings on the african side. reporter: despite divisions, the tuesday migration summit wrapped up with a plan to the tune of 1.8 billion euros, available to 23 african nations to tackle problems such as poverty, unemployment, and violence that prompt people to flee. >> we want to work with the countries of origin for people to ensure people don't feel the need to make this journey to europe. >> the money comes from the eu's collective budget. additional pledges by individual member states have amounted to

2:43 pm

just over 80 million euros. some african leaders have openly criticized the move. >> it is far from being enough. the needs are enormous and, beyond that, what we are hoping for is not just financial help, but development. we want to see reforms and global -- reforms in governance. increase eu will funded scholarships to give more opportunities for legal migration. it will accelerate the repatriation of failed asylum-seekers. some african leaders have been particularly wary of europe's attempt to pay them to take migrants back. home are worthk far more than the promised element eight -- promised development aid. chris: a growing diplomatic spat

2:44 pm

between france and the united states. the french reacted with anger after u.s. secretary of state john kerry said the americans would not sign a deal in which countries were legally obliged to cut greenhouse gas in missions -- greenhouse gas emissions. a and international treaty -- n international treaty with measures that must be implemented. discussion.a policy this is a real agreement with real terms. scandal-hit fifa. --p blatter "france 24" has more. >> they say they want to reform world football. they will be running against each other to secede -- succeed suspended fifa president sepp blatter.

2:45 pm

they both have -- they all have to undergo integrity checks. five tendencies -- candidacies were approved. the youngest to run is prince jordan,hussein of currently serving as jordan's football association president. he is a strong advocate of reform, saying fifa should be a model of ethics, transparency, and good governance. he was the only candidate to run against sepp blatter in the last election, but withdrew from a second round of voting. also running is a former diplomat who worked at the yearst -- at fifa for 11 as an advisor. another fierce contender, the auth african mining tycoon, member of fifa's antidiscrimination task force. he was jailed alongside nelson mandela.

2:46 pm

also hoping to preside over fifa's current vice president, the head of the powerful asian football confederation. he played a key role in the 2022 -- the acquisition of the 2022 world cup to guitar. -- to q atar. and one candidate said he would withdraw if michelle platini was platini wasf michel allowed in. >> either he wins his appeal and is allowed to stand or they can suspend him for a further 45 days if they decide the case is still pending. if that happens, that takes him a week before the election. there is no way he would be cleared in time for the election.

2:47 pm

reporter: platini is facing criminal charges, along with sepp blatter. until the suspension, he was the clear favorite to assist -- to succeed sepp blatter. dropped tiny robot was onto the surface of a comet hurtling toward the sun. it has healed many exciting scientific finds and a bit of drama -- it has hailed many exciting scientific finds and a bit of drama. robot made history last year by successfully landing on the comment. et.com it traveled on a spacecraft for 10 years. after entering orbit, it was ejected from its mother ship and touched down on the comet. the robot bounced several times on the craggy surface before

2:48 pm

ending up stuck in a crater. it immediately started transmitting photos and data, but, due to a technical fault, it did not collect samples of the surface. it sent home more than 60 hours of critical scientific data. >> it has helped us to better understand the origin of life and the universe. we have gathered dozens of hours of data. after only three days, the robot went into standby mode. it was not receiving enough sunlight to replenish its battery. the lander's powerpack was recharged several months later. drewne, as the comet closer to the sun, it made contact before falling silent again a few weeks later.

2:49 pm

the european space agency has decided to extend the robot's mission until 2016. today, the ultimate goal is for rosetta itself to land on the comet. chris: it is business time. hello to markus karlsson. we're starting off in greece where there has been a general strike for the first time since the syriza party rose to power. public transit, hospitals, state schools, and pharmacies were all .mpacted by the walkouts thousands of people came out onto the streets of greece to protest austerity, with some clashes reported. they were demonstrating against measures that the greek government signed up to as part of a bailout package a few months ago. kate moody has more. kate: resisting more austerity and calling on the government to stand firm. greeks protested against the prospect of still more

2:50 pm

structural reforms needed to secure an already delayed bailout payment of 2 billion euros. >> these measures that the government wants to pass are ones that will bury us. kate: the main disagreement relates to foreclosures. creditor's petition for new laws to help people -- creditors petitioned for new laws to help people. the left-wing government wants to keep rejecting low income suseholds from foreclosure, pport deemed too generous by bailout monitors, but crucial to its supporters. >> the government should not give in. they should continue to negotiate for something better. of course, i cannot accept poor people's homes being taken away from them. kate: in addition to the foreclosures, creditors want further action on pension cuts, a higher rate on private education, a new pricing system for prescription medication, and

2:51 pm

a new tax system for farmers. they gave athens one week to implement those outstanding reforms. last week, the european central bank said lenders would need up to 14 billion euros in fresh capital by the end of the year, more than 10 billion that has argument set aside for them -- that has already been set aside for them. kate: as the head of the european central bank says he is ready to pull the trigger on more stimulus for the eurozone, mario draghi was speaking to european lawmakers in brussels. he says that inflation remains stubbornly low in the single currency area, which points to weak demand. he says the ecb is ready to add to its 1.1 trillion euro bond buying program launched earlier this year. sustainedf a

2:52 pm

turnaround in core inflation have somewhat weakened. while the recovery will gradually strengthened the the inflation process, the protracted economic weakness of the past years continues to weigh on nominal wage growth. kate: that was mario draghi -- markus: that was mario draghi speaking earlier in brussels. it has helped global stocks on previous occasions, not so much today. a look at the united states' se ssion. the dow jones, the nasdaq, and the s&p 500 are all firmly in negative territory this hour with about 37 minutes or so to go of trading. energy is in focus, oil prices falling back. this at a time when figures show american crude stockpiles are building higher. we are seeing concerns about a supply glut coming back.

2:53 pm

that's why oil prices are down. we also saw energy shares on this side of the atlantic take a hit during thursday's session. that led the overall indices downward. 2% on the down almost session. rolls-royce shares weighed on the london stock market. we're going to take a closer look at why that was. we saw shares in the engineering firm finishing thursday 19% lower as the company issued its fourth profit warning in just over one year's time. rolls-royce says there is weaker demand for corporate jet engines as well as in offshore marine markets. the british company says those and other headwinds will reduce profits by 650 million pounds this year. 's maincept -- lufthansa cabin crew union says it will

2:54 pm

make a prose of -- make a proposal on friday to end an ongoing strike. it is all over retirement benefits for flight attendants. more than 900 flights will be canceled on friday. lufthansa says the walkouts are costing it more than 10 million euros a day. russia's economy continues to slump. if contracted by 4.1% in the third quarter -- it contracted by 4.1% in the third quarter, not as bad as predicted by economist. --economists. the country is also grappling with western economic sanctions over the crisis in ukraine. we are going to switch gears next to self driving cars, billed as the future of driving. google is among those trying to develop their version. the french giant peugeot is also trying to get in on this and has

2:55 pm

been testing their prototype in recent weeks. >> at first glance, it looks like an ordinary car, but this is the first self driving prototype from peugeot-citroen. the car has been allowed onto the highway for road tests with a driver ready to take control at any moment. >> i just need to tap the brakes or steer the wheel. after a few minutes, i understand the system. it's a vehicle that reacts progressively. it's really nice. >> the car's accelerator and other technical elements are hidden in the boot. computers located here receive real-time information from six sensors which analyze the surrounding area. the car also has two radars to track potential obstacles as well as two gps devices. cameras in the vehicle scan road signs and adjust their speed accordingly -- adjust the speed accordingly. the ability to overtake slow

2:56 pm

drivers is a recent ability for this vehicle, but it has yet to navigate itself in city traffic. the french carmaker expects to introduce the option of self driving cars in the next two years. -- next few years. >> we want to introduce the self driving car system by 2020.

2:57 pm

2:58 pm

2:59 pm

3:00 pm

11/12/15 11/12/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> i would like to talk to the audience about progressive values. i think israel is at the very least misunderstood. amy: a leading washington progressive think tank, the center for american progress, welcomes israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu prompting a revolt among some staffers. we will speak to a former center employee about netanyahu's speech and leaked emails showing